A weekend of swimming & basketball...

A new sports season has begun! Volleyball and cross-country running have given way to basketball and swimming and this past weekend we immersed ourselves in both. On Friday after school Rebecca and Hannah played their first home basketball games against the most advanced team in the league. The girls put up a good fight and played very well. Rebecca is serving as a captain of the varsity team this season and Hannah is a swing player between the varsity and junior varsity squads (that means she gets to play with both teams). On Saturday the girls played in Seoul and the varsity team won by one point in a close game. Above are some photos of Rebecca and Hannah on the court together, warming up. They also played together for a few minutes during the game as well, which was wonderful. Cora was also at Seoul Foreign School most of the day burning up the pool. She swam in four heats (50 m. freestyle, 50 m. breast stroke, 50 m. backstroke and 200 m. freestyle relay); she shaved up to 4 seconds off her personal time for each heat and she was the fastest backstroke swimmer on the TCIS team. It was all very exciting. Brian and I boarded the KTX train to head back to Daejeon at 8 p.m., full of parental pride after a full day of cheering.

Rebecca's last tree trimming...

Even though it's a bit early, we all decided it was time to put up our Christmas decorations. So last weekend we decked out the apartment with strings of twinkling lights, candles and many festive red accessories. As we prepared to trim the tree we all lamented the fact that this is the last time Rebecca will be home when we put up the tree. She was like the guest of honour for the afternoon; knowing she is graduating in June made this decorating session a very special one. We're not really allowing ourselves to admit that the year is almost half over, in the hope that her graduation will never arrive.

Celebrating Birthdays in Geriatric Style...

On Saturday, Nov. 21st, a bunch of TCIS folks gathered at the Gobius home for a Halfway-to-90 Party in honour of Marg and Heidi's 45th birthdays. Everyone dressed up according to how they envision themselves looking at the age of 90 and the results were spectacular. Mike and Jane were the most convincing, with Marg and Timo taking a close second place. There were many, many laughs shared throughout the evening and we all agreed that more costume parties are needed this year!

Family time...

On Sunday afternoon (Nov. 8), we had a rare hour when all five of us were together! We enjoyed wonderful coffee drinks at Kaffe Espresso in our neighbourhood and talked about all kinds of things. Ahh... family time. Also, the other morning the moon hung over the horizon outside our kitchen window and I couldn't resist taking some photos.

An evening making pottery with friends...

On Friday, October 30, Brian and I traveled back to the nearby pottery village to make pottery with several friends. We met with a talented potter and art history professor who taught us about how traditional Korean pottery is based on shapes from nature. We all made pieces on the wheel (with a lot of help!); Brian made a beautiful bowl and I made a candle stand (after destroying a few attempts and creating a small mountain of ruined clay). When we were all done, we sat and had tea (served in wonderful handmade cups) with the artist and his three-year-old daughter. She was particularly interested in our family photos that Brian had in his wallet and entertained us all for quite a while. To top off a wonderful evening we went to a nearby restaurant and tried three delicious new dishes we'd never eaten before. The last one was a traditional soup with green-tea noodles. Scrumptious!

Volleyball Champs!

Volleyball season officially came to end on Saturday, October 31st, with both Hannah and Rebecca's teams taking third place in their final tournaments! Rebecca's varsity team went to Beijing two weeks ago and came home with a third place ranking in APAC (Asia Pacific Activities Conference), playing teams from the Philippines and China. Rebecca also won an All-APAC award (which is like being voted MVP for the tournament). At their final tournament in Seoul for our local league, the varsity girls played hard and ranked third again (it's been 15 years since a girls' volleyball team from TCIS ranked in the top three) for the tournament and the overall season. Rebecca came away with an All-KAIAC award (MVP of the tournament) and a player of the game award. In addition, our girls won the sportsmanship award for the season and our coaches were voted coaches of the year. It was a great season and now both Hannah and Rebecca are immersed in basketball. Cora wrapped up cross-country season on Saturday, Nov. 7 and now starts into swim season. Where did these athletic tendencies come from, anyway??

Pottery & hiking... a perfect Saturday afternoon...

On Saturday, October 17th, we struck off with our friend Sarah Lillo to the nearby mountain of Gyreongsan. Just 30 minutes out of town, you feel like you are in another world when you enter the mountain region. It is peaceful and beautiful, and right now the fields of rice gleam a striking golden yellow in the afternoon sunshine. First we sought out the pottery village we have heard about for four years and have never visited. Tucked into a village at the foot of the mountain, several pottery artists have clustered their shops together. We strolled through the shops and had tea at one, and we watched some older villagers thresh some dried stalks with old-fashioned implements. It was like stepping back in time. Then we drove to the base of some trails and hiked for two hours. The leaves are slightly more colourful than last week but the best is yet to come in that regard; the weather is perfect for hiking, though, and it was a wonderful hike. We topped it off with a feast of Korean food and agreed we had enjoyed a perfect Saturday. Now, if only we could get the girls interested in hiking again... :)

Concerts & coffee...

The autumn high school concert took place on Tuesday, October 13th, and Hannah had a whole new role to play. Rather than taking her place on stage with the strings orchestra she dressed in black and white to perform in the concert choir. The choir sang four songs and all of them were fabulous. After the concert Brian and I had tea at a lovely new coffee shop in the neighbourhood. Across from the side gate of our school, the Blooming Cafe is decorated in restful colours and features dozens of specialty teas. Ahhh... perhaps grading papers won't seem so bad if we work at the cafe...

Canadian Thanksgiving in Korea...

On Sunday, October 11th, about 20 Canadians (and a few favourite Americans) gathered together at the Midkiff home to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. Costco was out of turkeys so we feasted on roasted chicken with all of the trimmings, several salads and some amazing desserts. In true Thanksgiving style, everyone rolled away from the table, stuffed to the gills, and wrapped up the gathering with a rousing game of Thanksgiving pictionary. We miss our family so much during holiday times and it is a blessing to spend time with some loved ones here to make us feel better.

FTL books arrive in Yanji...

In August Brian launched Freedom Through Learning and we have been busy emailing people and contacting organizations and schools ever since. The virtual warehouse is beginning to build and we even have a few schools from developing nations that have been registered! At TCIS we have connections with a community in China called Yanji (some of our students have parents who are missionaries there) and over the Chusok break about 30 people from our school community traveled to Yanji. Tucked inside suitcases and carry-on bags were sets of textbooks, hand-delivered by our colleagues as part of a Freedom Through Learning exchange. Here are some photos of books being delivered (it was quite a pile!) and there are a few more sets of textbooks now awaiting shipment the old-fashioned way (sponsors are needed, too, just in case you're interested). Check out the web site: www.freedomthroughlearning.org. We're pretty excited about how this little movement may grow... :)